Oklahoma Sooners

Andrea Adelson speaks with Oklahoma receiver and Biletnikoff finalist Ryan Broyles at "The Home Depot College Football Awards."

Jake Trotter answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football in his mailbag every Friday. Got a question for Jake? Submit it here.

Michael in Long Beach, Calif., writes: Jake, I don't want to overstate the collapse by the Sooners, but is it safe to say that last year's remarkable freshman class didn't evolve as expected in their sophomore years?

Jake Trotter: Michael, it’s fair to say that class as a whole failed to elevate its game to the level everyone thought it might. Fullback Trey Millard was an all-conference selection, but nobody else from that class -- Kenny Stills, Tony Jefferson, Corey Nelson, Roy Finch, Aaron Colvin -- had that kind of season. All of those guys are really good players, who are going to be the core of this team going forward. But we probably should have waited to see what would happen before declaring it the greatest class of the Bob Stoops era.

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Jason Kirkpatrick in Angleton, Texas, writes: Hi Jake, what is your take with the team coming back with OU minus Landry Jones next year? How good do you think this team can be and win conference? Thanks, Jason

Jake Trotter: I don’t know that I see this team -- with or without Landry -- contending for a national championship next season, but it will certainly be talented enough to win the Big 12. Oklahoma State must replace Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, Baylor could lose Robert Griffin III and Texas still has no offense. Kansas State, West Virginia and TCU will be solid, but OU should right there with any team in the league.

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Lance Norris in Phoenix writes: Mike Stoops back to Norman, it’s all the buzz. What are you hearing?

Jake Trotter: I’m hearing there is a decent chance Stoops comes back as OU’s secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator along with Brent Venables (assuming he doesn’t leave), but there are some obstacles that have to be resolved first. Remember, there is no opening on the OU staff at the moment. Someone will have to leave or be fired for Stoops to return, and Bob Stoops has never fired an assistant during his tenure at OU. Mike Stoops has other options, too. He is being courted by Nebraska and Ohio State, among others. And those places actually have vacancies. But if one pops up in Norman, look for Bob to make a strong push to bring his brother back. Stay tuned.

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Chad in Edmond, Okla., writes: I've been thinking recently about how OU hasn't been a juggernaut rushing, but instead focuses on passing. I know with Landry and Sam Bradford passing should be a priority. But there has been so much offensive line and running back talent come through recently that it confuses me as to why OU can't run the ball. What I want to know is, are the running issues something to do with how the players are coached or more towards the scheme? Shouldn't it be easier to run with the talent that OU consistently has? I see that as being one of the biggest problems. I would like to know your opinion. Thanks.

Jake Trotter: Chad, growing up I was a fan of the Miami Dolphins during the Dan Marino era. Miami scored a ton of points then. But no matter what the Dolphins did, no matter who they signed or drafted, no matter how much they talked about it, they could never run the ball with any consistent effectiveness. Why? I believe it was because of their mentality. They never could develop the mentality of a hardnosed run team. They never could shake the mentality they were a finesse team. They didn’t really believe they could impose their will on the ground. And there wasn’t really a commitment to see it through. I see OU having a similar mentality now. The talent is there to run the ball. I’m not sure the right mentality is at the moment. Until that changes, running the ball is going to continue to be a struggle.

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Clayton in Sherman, Texas, writes: Everyone keeps saying we don't have a tight end. What about the two freshmen on the roster from last year’s class? Max Stevenson and Hughes. If we pick up three more like you all say in your recruiting news, we will have more on the roster than we have now, right?

Jake Trotter: Stevenson has never played a down and is recovering from a pectoral injury. I’m not sure which Hughes you are referring to, but Nathan Huges is a defensive end, and John-Phillip Hughes is a walk-on. If Austin Haywood doesn’t make it back -- and based on who OU is recruiting, I’m skeptical he will -- the Sooners would be left with only one returning scholarship tight end, who hasn’t been practicing because of injury. Which is why tight end is a definite need. That’s why the Sooners are bringing in two tight ends in Laith Harlow and junior college transfer Brannon Green. And they're still recruiting a few others.

Cameron Clark is growing up before our eyes.

For the second straight game, the sophomore Oklahoma forward was remarkably efficient while leading the Sooners to a 73-59 win over Oral Roberts at Lloyd Noble Arena on Thursday night. Clark finished with 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field with eight rebounds.

Clark has scored 34 points on just 20 field goal attempts in the Sooners last two games. He has shot over 50 percent in each of OU’s last three games.

Steven Pledger lead the Sooners with 17 points while Andrew Fitzgerald added 16 to join Clark in double figures.

Player of the Game: Clark. If he continues to perform at this level, Clark will give the Sooners another strong perimeter presence to join Pledger and help lessen the scoring load on OU’s sharp shooter.

Unsung Hero: C.J. Washington. The senior gave OU a spark with some strong minutes late in the first half, helping the Sooners take a 34-24 lead into the locker room. He finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Key Stat: 6.7. Oral Roberts shot 1 of 15 from the three point line (6.7 percent) including 0 of 8 in the second half.

Quotable: “From freshman year to now, he’s slowed down a lot. Freshman year he was doing things quick, trying to get it off as quick as he can, now he’s being patient when he catches the ball. He’s not looking at the man in front of him he’s looking at the help, if the help isn’t there, that’s when he’s going to attack.” --Pledger on Clark’s offensive improvement as a sophomore.

“C.J. came in and gave us a big lift. That was huge.” --Ccoach Lon Kruger on Washington’s impact in the first half.

“As long as we maintain the balance of improving and knowing we have a long way to go, we will become as good as we can become. And that’s our goal.” --Kruger on where the team is at this point.

“Coach says I need to bring energy and that’s all I was trying to do.” --Washington

Oklahoma seniors Ryan Broyles and Frank Alexander have been named to the Walter Camp All-America team, it was announced Thursday night.

Receiver Broyles, who missed the Sooners' final three regular season games with a torn ACL, has been named to the first team for the second consecutive year. Defensive end Alexander was named to the second team.

Broyles finished the season with 83 catches for 1,1157 yards and 10 touchdowns. Alexander had 51 tackles, 8.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.

Oklahoma now has 153 first-team All-Americans since Claude Reeds first won the honor in 1913.

Scouts Inc. updated its 2012 NFL draft board today, and Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has taken a tumble.

Jones, who before Bedlam was rated by Scouts Inc. has the second-best quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft, is now the fourth-rated QB on the board, behind Stanford's Andrew Luck, USC's Matt Barkley and Baylor's Robert Griffin III.

He fell from No. 7 to No. 16 overall.

Here's what ESPN's Todd McShay said about Jones:

Jones' stock continues to slide. His accuracy has been erratic, and he finished the season without a touchdown pass in his last three games.

In his last three games -- without star receiver Ryan Broyles -- Jones completed 85 passes out of 144 attempts for 953 yards and five interceptions. He also had two costly fumbles in the Sooners' blowout loss to Oklahoma State.

What do you think of the ranking? If Jones leaves school after this season for the NFL draft, will he be a first-round pick in your opinion?

SoonerNation has released the latest edition of the Sooner Intel, a sneak peek inside Oklahoma Sooners football recruiting for SoonerNation subscribers only.

As with any good piece of intelligence, everything that is reported in Sooner Intel stays on the There’s Only One forum. Sometimes some of the information is so sensitive and for Sooner fans’ eyes only, that it simply doesn’t need to be passed on beyond this thread.

Some things discussed:

• More on the Sooners' newest commits, receiver Derrick Woods and tight end Brannon Green
• Where will Dorial Green-Beckham and Mario Edwards be this weekend?
• The latest on linebacker Quanzell Lambert
• Will OU make a late run at an in-state defensive back?
• An update on new basketball signee C.J. Cole

Check out the Sooner Intel here.

The Big 12 coaches voted six Sooners to the All-Big 12 first team and four to the All-Big 12 second team.

All-Big 12 First Team:

FB Trey Millard, WR Ryan Broyles, OL Gabe Ikard, DL Frank Alexander, DL Ronnell Lewis, DB: Jamell Fleming,

All-Big 12 Second Team:

WR Kenny Stills, TE James Hanna, LB Travis Lewis, DB Demontre Hurst

What do you think? Were any Sooners snubbed?